I Know Who You Are

Aspiring actress Aimee is starting to move up in her beloved career. She is brilliant at pretending, lying, being strong on the outside and confused and broken on the inside and playing a role, most of which has been gained by a horrendous childhood and the events that just about failed to break her for good.
The problem with faking being who you think others want you to be when you’re constantly alert for someone to realise your act is that it’s tiring, stressful and lonely. But someone remembers who Aimee was and what her actions were in the past and the fear of this causes her to become erratic and drink quite a bit. Her husband is missing but she can’t really understand how even though everyone thinks she’s harmed him and show more she’s anxious about her agents phone messages, her co star and her future. Being somewhat unreliable the book is fairly ambiguous, leaving plenty of opportunity to question everything and everyone in between chapters, as I tried to work out what’s going on and who is to blame, as well as the identity of the person she keeps seeing sending her frightening notes.
This book stands out from others in the genre by being full of ideas and quotable lines that help you understand Aimee’s philosophy and the history given of her childhood in alternate chapters with the present day. There is so little you can really rely on that the book is good at deceiving you and making you guess until the final pages. The character of Aimee becomes more understandable as you see how her childhood made her who she is, and provides a nice comparison of the child and adult voice and situations. Bad things seem to have repeatedly happened to her all through her life so I felt some sympathy for her, as well as feeling unsure about her morals along the way- is she doing the right thing by pretending to be someone she isn’t? Are any of us? I read this quickly as I really wanted to know the answer and the end really delivered for me. show less

This book received so many mixed reviews, I wasn’t sure about reading it. But, wow...that cover (the black one)!! Alice Feeney’s debut received such great praise, expectations were high. Fortunately I haven’t read it yet, so no expectations here!

I’m happy to say I was hooked from the start. The story was good, but the way it was told was the most enjoyable part. Feeney’s writing is superb and her ability to construct such creative twists is amazing! Some described the ending as unbelievable or far-fetched, but we are reading fiction! And you have to give Feeney credit for coming up with some wicked, cunning and crazy twists...and a jaw-dropping ending! This is a book that stands out...you either love it or hate it!

The show more chapters alternate between “adult Aimee”...a successful, but insecure, actress who has a rocky marriage to Ben. And “child Aimee”...who led a very secretive and tragic childhood.

“The lies we tell ourselves are always the most dangerous.”

Aimee comes home to an empty house one evening. Her husband’s wallet, phone, keys, coat, and shoes are there, and his car is parked in its usual spot, but there is no sign of Ben. They’ve been married for two years, but the marriage has steadily gone downhill. Ben is no longer the man she married and she’s not sure she really knows him any longer.

“Sometimes it’s the people who love us the most that hurt us the hardest; because they can.”

Aimee’s life is turned upside down. Her husband is missing, she’s under suspicion, her stalker has resurfaced and the police don’t believe her.

Feeney has been added to my favorite author list!

My Rating: 4 ⭐️’s
Published: April 23rd 2019 by Flatiron Books
Pages: 288

Recommend: Yes

Excerpts:

“Sometimes you have to fall hard enough for it to hurt, to know when to pick yourself up. You can’t start to put yourself back together if you don’t even know that you’re broken.”

show less

This is the author's second suspense novel and I found it very similar to the first, easy read, entertaining. The author is able to maintain the suspense and throws in a bit of gratitious sex and violence. But the characters are rather creepy; incredibly damaged, suited better for a horror film. The villain reveal wasn't satisfying and read like the author tried to patch it with additional clues.

3.5 stars
Wow. This book was a wild ride from start to finish. I would have never guessed that ending. I liked the book, up until the ending, hence the 3.5 stars. It was a well written ending and definitely a surprise, but, without spoilers, that is not an ending I'd like from any author.
Will continue to read more from Alice Feeney.

I enjoyed most of this book thoroughly. It was well constructed, the characters believable, and the plot was gripping. It is a story in two parts: that of Aimee Sinclair, very successful actress, and that of the little girl she once was, who ran away from home and was adopted by Maggie.

Aimee's husband has disappeared after an awful row the night before. She reports his disappearance to the police and then herself becomes a suspect, their suspicions confirmed when a body is found buried under her back porch. Aimee has been stalked, someone is leaving post cards "I know who you are" and there are things she doesn't want anyone to know.

What I didn't enjoy was a twist at the end when the author implements an extraordinary explanation for show more who the person is that has been stalking Aimee. But then there is a final twist that is brilliant. show less

This is the second book I have read from this author and I have loved them both. In this newest tale, Aimee Sinclair is an actress that everyone sort of knows, but they really don't as Aimee is not really who she appears. She has a tragic past and lots of secrets that combine with twists in her life that keep the reader entranced. I can't wait for Feeney's next one!

I was super anxious to get my hands on this book after Sometimes I Lie (where I fell in love with Alice Feeney) and I wasn't disappointed when a library copy finally landed on my shelf. The plot of the book was original, as was SIL, and I was intrigued all the way through to the surprise twisty ending. I particularly like the fact that no dangling issues remained outstanding - fully satisfying my curiosity on the fate of one and all.

(04/13/2023) I read this a few years ago and if I remember correctly, there's a bit of an ick at the end that bothered many of my GR Friends, and might account for the overall lower ranking. I can't say the ick didn't shock and disturb me, but the plot was dark and atmospheric and the book was still one of show more the best, if not the best, suspense thrillers that I read in 2019. show less